Education letter: There's no `scandal' here

I was surprised to read the revelations by Robert Walls in his article about admission standards.

Whether these are typical or not there is certainly another side to the coin. I know of a case (I doubt if it is unique) in which a Commonwealth student whose English is good has been refused entry clearance to take up a place at a college. He took A-levels in this country and was offered a place at university but could not afford to take it up. It appears that although it was a Conservative government that denied entry to Commonwealth students unless their parents were rich enough to pay fees, this policy has now been extended to some students whose fees have been paid - perhaps because the fee does not meet some threshold.